February 8, 2017

Spread the love

So in April a really important running thing happens in London that brings the good and the great of the running world into the capital…and NO it’s not the Virgin London Marathon (although that might have something to do with the timings) No…it’s the UK Running Awards

In 2015 I was completely overwhelmed to have made the shortlist and went along to the event which is hosted at IndigoO2 with my sister, sat at the back of the venue waiting for the award to be announced so I could go home, as I had the mere matter of 26.2 miles to run just 48 hours later…so you can imagine my surprise when my name was called out and I had to make my way to the stage to collect my award…I was truly speechless.

My sister however was not and was screaming her head off.

Last year I think I was a bit better prepared and knew there was a possibility of winning it again. I wasn’t running a marathon that weekend either, so I was able to enjoy the night and have a few glasses of bubbly (possibly a few too many) especially after I won the award for the second year running.

So now I have two wooden men proudly on my shelf in my front room.

Can we do it again for a 3rd time?

And why is it even important?

What we do here at The Fat Girls Guide to Running is very unique. We represent women who are often not represented elsewhere, although I guess this is changing slowly with campaigns like This Girl Can and the media’s recent interest in overweight runners as role models.

Being involved in these awards ensures plus size fitness and specifically The Fat Girls Guide to Running remains front of mind, which is key while I still have such a long way to go in growing the business so that it is sustainable.

Winning awards is of course a nice little stroke of the ego, and makes all of my hard work seem worth it…but its so more than that.

With a room full of running brands, races, and important running folk in the room, winning this award puts a message out there that plus size fitness is important, that there is a market for it, and that products and services should be available for us too.

It helps to raise my profile too and has in the past led to new partnerships and projects.

Ladies, each and every vote absolutely counts, so please don’t think

Oh everyone else will do it

The process is very simple and literally takes less than 60 seconds...here is the link. You could also help me share the voting link by asking your friends and family to vote to, remembering to explain why this blog is important to you, and to women around the world.